About Mikael Expertise I will be happy to answer questions regarding scepticism itself, as well as to provide a sceptical viewpoint on a wide variety of subjects, from the claims of paranormal to pseudoscience and conspiracy theories. From homeopathy to near death experiences, if you've got a question, fire away.
Experience I've been a sceptic for about a decade now, a position which I gravitated towards from an earlier fascination with all things supernatural. I have a fully naturalistic worldview, which means that I don't believe in the existence of the supernatural; this includes ghosts, deities, and a whole variety of the claims of supernatural abilities . Being a sceptic though means (contrary to how many perceive scepticism) that I must first consider myself falliable, which I do. I don't hold on to any of my beliefs dogmatically, but subject all my views to scrutiny, which makes them liable to change if new evidence so demands.
Education/Credentials Several years of university studies - not on a relevant subject though. On the subject of scepticism, self educated - I don't think that's a subject for higher education! :)
Question WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE? DO YOU BELIEVE IN "ANY" HIGHER POWER? DO YOU BELIEVE IN KARMA?
THANKS!
Answer Short answer, no, I do not believe in karma.
Bad things happen to good people because there is no conscious, thinking being deciding what happens and what does not - and the laws of nature are impersonal, there's no good will, nor malice in them. That may sound bleak, but I do believe that it is liberating when understood - in the face of adversity beyond your control, and not inflicted upon you by any person, you then don't need to feel anger at anything, because nobody intended that bad occurrence to happen against you - it just did.
People usually look at the world as if it revolved around them, so that if, say, their house collapses, and the family member is killed, they naturally ask "Why did the house collapse just then? Why not when my relative wasn't inside?", they need a REASON beyond the merely physical description of what factors in the construction of the house led to it's weakness and eventual collapse. Whereas if the house DID collapse when there was no-one inside, they don't have any difficulty accepting that it collapsed only because of some fault in the construction had led to the gradual crumbling of some supporting elements, which just happened to crash just then. Yet there need be no particular reason why the house would collapse at one time and not another, depending on who was or wasn't inside. The physical stresses on the construction elements don't have motives, nor do weakened materials have will.
Looking for this sort of intent in all events is futile I think - there's no reason why totally random events would not sometimes occur at times when they happen to lead to disastrous consequences for some people - and no particular people, the accident doesn't "aim" itself at anyone in particular. And the same is true for tortuous occurrences.
I do belive though in "what goes around, comes around" in a more mundane sense - if you are good to people, generous and thoughtful, that'll lead to people around you looking favorably on you, and other people will be more willing to go out of their way to help you in turn. Moreover, if we are a part of some group, some coalition, then by that very membership we may expect to receive good things, if we agree to be generous towards other members when we can.
It is a pleasant thought to think that there's some over-riding rule that goes beyond this humane "recycling" of kindness, but that thought has it's flip-side in when bad things do happen to good people - if that good person truly believes in Karma, they may feel that the universe has something against them, or perhaps they may end up blaming themselves for no reason, and searching frantically from their memories for something they might have done to deserve it. Such thinking can end up making the already bad experience even worse.
I also don't believe that there exists any higher, supernatural power - I don't think that there exists any overseeing intelligence or spirit that rewards or punishes us, or acts capriciously and maliciously towards us either; I think that it is up to us humans to shape our world into a place that is good for people to live in. If we see an injustice, it is up to us to point it out and correct it, if we want to live in a just world. And if we want to live in a kind world where we won't be abandoned if calamity falls on us, if a tornado tears through our house, if an earthquake shatters our city, then we cannot just rely on some otherworldly intervention, but must intervene ourselves when others face such disasters. I believe that if we want a world of kindness and compassion, we must be kind and compassionate ourselves - that is the only way.
